Earl Washington, Jr.

For the engraver and counterfeiter Earl Marshawn Williams, sometimes known as “Earl Washington Jr”, see E. M. Washington.

Earl Washington Jr. (born May 3, 1960) is a wrongfully-convicted former Virginia death-row inmate, who was falsely imprisoned for rape and murder of Rebecca Lyn Williams.[1] Washington, with an IQ estimated at 69, confessed to the crime, but apparently only after being coerced by investigators.[2] After a fellow inmate Joseph Giarratano took on his case, citing Washington's mental disability,[3] DNA evidence in 1994 showed that Washington could not have made the seminal stain and raised doubt that he was responsible for the crimes for which he was sentenced.[1] Nine days before his scheduled execution, Virginia's Governor Douglas Wilder commuted his sentence to life in prison.[2] In 2000, after more accurate DNA testing strengthened the case for his innocence, he received a full pardon from Governor James Gilmore.[1] Washington was represented by attorneys Robert T. Hall, Eric M. Freedman, Gerald Zerkin and Barry A. Weinstein.[3]

In 2006, Washington was awarded $2.25 million from the estate of Agent Wilmore who had forced the false confession from Washington.[4] In 2007, the actual murderer Kenneth Tinsley pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison.

Washington's case is frequently cited by opponents of the death penalty as an example of a wrongful death sentence.[5]

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 Murnaghan, Ian, (28 december 2012) Famous Trials and DNA Testing; Earl Washington Jr. Explore DNA, Retrieved 13 November 2014
  2. 1 2 (June 2012) Earl Washington University of Michigan Law School, The National Registry of Exonorations, Retrieved 14 November 2014
  3. 1 2 Edds, Margaret (2006). An Expendable Man: The Near-Execution of Earl Washington, Jr. New York and London: New York University Press. ISBN 978-0814722398.; a review of this book can also be found on the internet by Bearss, Sara. "Virginia Libraries v50n1 - Virginia Reviews". Retrieved 19 November 2014.
  4. ↑ Jebb, John F. (2011). True Crime: Virginia: The State's Most Notorious Criminal Cases. Stackpole Books. ISBN 9780811745123.
  5. ↑ Northup, Steven A. (20 July 2014) Death penalty is unfair and must be repealed VADP, Retrieved 19 November 2014

References


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